Fitness boot camp and ‘selection showdown’ - Charlotte Edwards’ new England

While there were some notable improvements in fielding — Edwards says that based on the stats, England were the “best fielding team at the World Cup” — this is only the first pillar of the “new England” that the head coach is building.

In this vein, Edwards is using this winter as her “laboratory” phase. She is speaking to The Times from Oman, where she has overseen an intensive, two-week training camp to assess the levels of both established and up-and-coming players. Without any competitive cricket, Edwards wants to release the players from what she calls “performance pressure” but she has put in place minimum fitness standards that must be met.

The players have combined fitness work with intensive skills training led by specialist coaches. They have tried to recreate match scenarios and worked on decision-making, including combining power-hitting with innings-management. While T20 skills have been the priority, they have done some work with the red ball given they have three Test matches in the next 18 months.

Among the players in attendance were England regulars Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Lauren Filer and Emma Lamb, along with those who are pushing for a regular spot, including fast bowler Issy Wong, spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman and left-arm seamer Mahika Gaur.

After this camp, the intensity will ramp up with about 30 players heading to the UAE for intra-squad matches in March, which is being billed as a “selection showdown” for the 15-strong squad for the T20 World Cup, which begins in June.

“The players haven’t really had this block of time to dedicate to working on their skills,” Edwards, 46, says. “They’re normally having to jump from one tournament, one tour to another, and our young players are really relishing that opportunity, so they can get stuck into their skills.”

There is still plenty of work to be done and Edwards acknowledges that the batting line-up was inconsistent in India. Struggles against spin were also highlighted, along with some weaknesses in decision-making.

Although the list of contracted players announced last year was mostly the same familiar faces — batters Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Sophia Dunkley and Tammy Beaumont, spinners Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn, and seam bowlers Filer and Lauren Bell — Edwards is no longer selecting from a narrow pool of “inevitables”.

She notes that while a few years ago the conversation was limited to a tiny core, “we’ve got 30-odd players now that are in the reckoning to play for England”. She adds: “I think what this does is create competition, which I think is really, really healthy. It’s really driving the group forward.”

Several players are moving into what might be kindly termed as the autumn of their careers. Beaumont is 34, wicketkeeper Amy Jones 32, former captain Heather Knight 35, and present captain Nat Sciver-Brunt 33. They are all unlikely to play in another 50-over World Cup so Edwards will now be thinking about the transition to the next generation — the likes of Corteen-Coleman, 18, and batting star Davina Perrin, 19.

As the women’s game moves into a professionalised era of higher salaries, the top players such as Sciver-Brunt can earn seven-figure salaries from their central contracts plus franchise tournaments, while players at domestic level are now fully professional. The England players receive the same match fees for international games as the men, but with that comes greater scrutiny.

Edwards views her role as more than just a tactical architect; she is the custodian of the team’s culture. When asked about the challenges of managing players who now command significant sums of money and face the temptations of the modern sporting world — without specifically referring to the accusations of “drinking culture” that have recently dogged the men’s side — Edwards is clear about the standards she has set for her players. The last thing the women’s side need is for there to be any stories similar to those that plagued the men’s side down under this winter.

“I saw that a big responsibility of mine when I came into the role was, I guess, setting the standard for the players in terms of what we expect of them as England cricketers,” she says. “I was really clear what we expect. We wanted them to be really positive role models for young boys and girls playing the game. And when they go into a different environment or in our environment, that they’re a positive influence in that.

“I couldn’t be happier with where our players are at in that respect. I can’t comment on the men’s side, but clearly it’s something I’m really passionate about.”

When Edwards took over the role in April, it was amid accusations that some of her players were unfit and unathletic, especially in comparison with their Australian counterparts, and so Edwards has put in place regular fitness testing, clear training and nutrition regimes. These are monitored closely by the head coach and her management team.

It is a big year for Edwards and England. The last time there was a home World Cup, in 2017, England lifted the trophy in front of a packed house at Lord’s, while Edwards, as captain, was part of the 2009 T20 World Cup-winning squad when the tournament was played in England and Wales.

Since 2017, the support for and interest in women’s sport has grown beyond all recognition and Edwards understands the importance of showcasing women’s cricket and building on the recent successes in football and rugby union.

“The game’s only getting bigger now. You’ve seen what the ticket sales are for this summer,” she says — more than 100,000 tickets have already been sold, already surpassing the number for the 2017 World Cup.

Edwards says she wants women’s cricket to be “centre stage” alongside the Lionesses and the Red Roses. “There’s no better time to be involved in the women’s game,” she adds.

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